Alternators Pursuit & Chaser
by SJ777
Summary: A take on Transformers based loosely on the Alternators toyline. Forget Optimus. Forget Megatron. Forget Unicron. A few Transformers end up on Earth, mysteriously merge with human vehicles and join either side of the law....
1. First Writing

**TRANSFORMERS ALTERNATORS FANFIC**

**Prologue: Hot Pursuit**

Late afternoon, on a plains highway, somewhere in the country known as the United States of America, on a lush watery planet known as Earth, is where the stage is set. The middle of a sunny day…

A car rushes past.

An all black, latest model Chevrolet Corvette at 180km/h.

Another car follows it at the same speed and gaining- understandably a police car with siren blaring.

Also a Chevrolet Corvette.

Same coupe model, same year, identical in every way- but for the police car décor.

The driver of the police Corvette winds down the window- he is Officer Carl Chaser, the best driver of the Freeway City Police Force (at least in his opinion). "All right Enzine, you've got one chance to pull over and give yourself up," he shouts, "And this is it!"

The driver of the black Corvette winds down his own window- Davis Enzine, notorious road racer- and Carl's long-standing rival. "No way Chaser, this is a race I'm gonna WIN!" he shouts back. Then he floors the pedal and starts to accelerate away…

Carl Chaser doesn't give up that easily. He flips open a compartment in his dash and hits the button clearly marked NITRO. Blue fire bursts out the ends of the long exhausts along both sides of his car and he accelerates to 250kmph, rocketing past Enzine- much to the racer's surprise and disgust. Davis tries to overtake as the nitro boost wears off, but Carl moves in front of him to cut him off- just like a professional. Davis thinks, _damn, this guy would have made a great racer if he hadn't fallen in with the pigs._ He then opens his own secret compartment in his black Corvette's dash- but one which contains something wildly different. Davis pulls out an Uzi and aims out the window; "Overtake this, punk! Davis opens fire on the police car.

Carl is aware of the bullet holes appearing in his back window- _I really need to get some bulletproof windshields sometime._ He swerves to avoid the bullets- and Davis moves up right next to him, just as the racer had planned. He grins as he reloads the Uzi, and Carl returns the gesture by getting out his police standard issue Glock pistol. The two cars are exactly alongside each other- they are almost identical. Both are Chevrolet Corvettes, both heavily and skilfully modified for fast and intense racing conditions, both have seen plenty of action on the road and will see much more. More than anyone could think…

The two cars race dangerously, siren blaring, engines roaring, bullets flying, scaring the heck out of any poor civilian motorists trying to get around. Then while Carl is reloading his pistol, Davis spots a way to get rid of him- once and for all…

Davis is on the right side of Carl's Corvette, and starts moving right, giving room to him. Carl is slightly puzzled, but needs to get closer to shoot and moves towards him. He thinks that he might be able to force him against the wall… then he sees Davis smile again and the officer only just notices the Hummer right in front of him! Carl hastily decelerates and tries to move behind Davis to avoid a collision- then Davis moves back to Carl's left and side-rams him, causing the police Corvette to lose control, smash through the highway barrier and plunge to the desert below! Davis laughs and laughs as he boosts away to win the race.

For Carl, the world is in slow motion.

His beloved Chevrolet Corvette falling nose-first.

The ground coming up to meet him.

But… _something… _is on the ground, where he is about to land.

Something big. Something metal. Something vaguely human-shaped.

Something Carl can only describe as…

_A giant robot?_

And he is heading straight towards it.

**Part 1: Impact, fusion, destiny**

Pursuit had been staggering aimlessly across the desert regions of this strange, backwater planet for some time now. His ship had crash-landed here, and he had no method of communication with the Autobots- and even if he did, he wouldn't have tried. He had failed his best friend and deserted an important mission- he thought he would have been better off killed in action. At least he would have his honour. Instead, he had fled everything in his damaged ship and crashed here.

But something distracted Pursuit from his misery- strange sounds of machines. As he got closer, the machines turned out to be small vehicles on wheels- they were not unlike mid-sized Transformers in vehicle mode. His curiosity overcoming his misery, Pursuit ran closer and saw the elevated road they were travelling on. There were not too many of them, but they were all shapes and sizes- some small and rounded, some huge and blocky. There were even occasional enormous vehicles towing large boxes. Then Pursuit heard a siren blaring, and especially loud sounds of two vehicle engines. Was there some kind of emergency? Then some kind of shots, and seconds later- one of the vehicles went through the barrier on the side of the road and plunged down _straight towards him._

It scared Pursuit, not just because the vehicle had happened to go nuts and fall exactly where he was standing, but because it was one scary vehicle- siren blaring, coloured lights flashing, engine screaming.

Then through the front window, Pursuit saw the driver- some kind of rounded organic creature with a face not unlike a Transformer.

His name happened to be Carl Chaser.

The two locked eyes for a split-second. They had been thinking similar thoughts. _What! What is this? Who is this? Whoa, nice paint job._

Then they collided.

The actual collision was rather painful in itself- the front of Carl's Corvette slammed into Pursuit's chest, causing quite some crumple damage both ways. It was what happened next, however, that was really surprising.

The car, human and Transformer all glowed in a strange blue light. Then their energies touched. They seemed to stand still in mid-air.

Then the car and Transformer merged together, to form one Transformer in vehicle mode- with Carl still inside.

The resulting machine was properly upright, and only fell a few feet to the ground as the glow seemed to instantly dissipate. Both Carl and Pursuit had metaphorical stars revolving around their heads. When they recovered, they both noticed changes to the structure of the Corvette.

The car still retained most of the standard Chevrolet Corvette shape and features- and Carl's own modifications. But the car- or should we now say Pursuit- was composed of a different alloy than ever seen in human-made vehicle or Transformer. There was an Autobot insignia on various parts of the car, the engine structure had changed, and a small screen had appeared on the console. An image of Pursuit's head appeared on it. It spoke Pursuit's voice. "Whoa… what hit me?"

Carl was surprised immensely. "What the heck? You're telling me!" He then quickly opened the door and practically leaped out of his car. "What's going on! Who are you!"

The car answered; "…I'm Pursuit, pleased to meet you… gimme some room…"

Carl was somewhat happy to oblige, and watched in shock as Pursuit slowly transformed to robot mode- Transforming, usually as normal to them as breathing to us, was a bit disorienting for Pursuit as his system had changed, but he eventually stood to full height. "Wh-what the heck are you? And why have you taken over my car!"

Pursuit rubbed his head and answered again; "I'm a Transformer, of course, but I don't know why I just… merged with your- car, as you call it." Pursuit turned his head towards Carl. "And you didn't tell me your name, and- what are you?"

Carl answered; "I am Officer Carl Chaser, and I'm a member of the human race."

"O-officer… Carl… Chaser…"

"Well, Officer's just the job I do, call me Carl. So, where did you come from, exactly? Were- were you created by humans? You look kinda like one of us."

Pursuit chuckled a bit. "Uh, well, I'm from the planet Cybertron, and no, I don't think your kind created me… though we do look a bit alike. So, what planet is this? And why did you fall on top of me?"

"We call this planet Earth, and as for how I fell, well… I was chasing a criminal on the highway and… had an accident. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be alive, so I should say thanks. So, thanks."

"Eheh, no problem. Weird how you happened to fall right where I was."

"Yeah…" Carl answered. He thought _Wait a second, I was trying to catch Davis when he… tricked me and I fell off the highway and now I'm chatting with a giant robot from outer space that became my car!_

Pursuit was also thinking; _Great, I've run away from a battle and landed on a planet with not only intelligent life but vehicles, one of which I just merged with and now I'm talking to its driver- perhaps the firs t ever contact between Transformers and another intelligent race!_

Both burst out; "What the heck am I DOING!" at the same time. Then they looked at each other- and burst out laughing simultaneously.

After they recovered Carl said; "Well, have you got backup coming? Some friends to pick you up"

Then Pursuit lost some of his good humour and said "…I don't think I really… have any friends anymore…"

"Aw jeez, you poor guy. Hey, maybe I can be your friend!"

Pursuit was surprised. "What? Really? But…"

"Come on, you can explain the rest back at my place, I've lost the crim and it's getting late. It'll be dark in a few hours and I'd better report back to the Department. You gonna come?"

"Oh, yeah, may as well… thanks."

"Hey, no problem. Uh, if we want to get anywhere quickly you'd better turn back into my car."

"Oh right. Hang on…"

Pursuit turns back into his car form, still recognisable as Carl's police Corvette.

"Wow, that's cool!" Carl exclaims. He runs back to Pursuit and hops in. "Can you control yourself now? I guess you probably could…"

"There's only one way to find out!"

Pursuit revs his engine and hoots off over the plains. Carl yells "Hang on Pursuit, I'm the only one who knows way home… wow, you're fast! Woohoo!"

"No kidding, I must be over twice as fast as before! The fusion must have upgraded my engine!"

"Gimme a few hours in my workshop and you'll be twice as fast again, I betcha!" Carl settles down a bit, and smiles. "You know, I think we're going to get along just fine…"

As Carl and Pursuit drove home, they explained to each other their backgrounds and why they came here. Pursuit told Carl all he knew about the Transformers, about the centuries-old war between the noble, peace-loving Autobots, which he was one of, and the warlike, ambitious Decepticons, and how he was a soldier fighting that war but didn't want to fight anymore, so he had deserted, and ended up here.

Carl suspected he had other reasons too, but explained about himself anyway. Carl had come to America from Australia a few years ago, with little but some cash and a lot of skill with cars- both fixing and driving. He ended up joining the police force, where he was renowned for his skill with cars and was a notorious enemy of Highway City's many illegal road racers. To save up for his training, Carl also had a small operation buying written-off cars from the junkyard and fixing them up better than new, then selling them at an honest profit. Carl had acquired his Corvette that way- some rich kid had crashed his new car and thrown it away, but then Carl found it, repaired it into a real hot rod and decided to keep it- and turn it into his signature police car for chasing down road racers.

"My job as a member of the police force is to enforce the laws which are meant to make life safe and enjoyable for everyone," explained Carl as he parked Pursuit in his garage, "And therefore find and bring to justice those who break them."

"Sounds a bit like the Autobot cause." remarked Pursuit. "We do have a lot in common, you know."

"Yeah, we do, don't we? Anyway, I've got to go back on duty tomorrow, you're still technically my car so you'd better come. I'll show you around the city."

That night, Carl showed Pursuit some of his books and newspapers, so he could learn about human history and culture. Pursuit found the diversity of humans intriguing, since most of the Transformer history and culture he knew revolved around the Cybertronian civil war (putting it in a mild term). The two found they had a lot in common, and got along better than anyone

they had ever known…

**Part 2: New on the streets**

The next morning, Carl got up at six as usual, ate breakfast (Nitr-Os cereal with too much sugar), opened the garage door, revved up his Corvette- Pursuit, as we should now call him- and burst out onto the streets of Highway City. Carl explained the various vehicles they passed, as they both had the most interest in the subject.

"That's a Ford passing us, and that's a Hummer there, and that big Ute's a Dodge..."

"What about that one over there?"

"Where?"

"On the right of this intersection."

"Oh, that one. That's a Dodge too, but a Viper. Hey… I know that girl."

"What girl?"

"The one driving the Viper." Carl winds down his window and waves. "Hey Sally!"

The young woman driving the red Dodge Viper convertible looks surprised, and waves back sheepishly. Then she drives on past them briskly.

"You know her?"

"Yeah, her name's Sally Sweitzer, I pulled her over a few times for speeding, and some other stuff, but I helped her reform and we still keep in touch."

Then a while down the road, Carl pulls over to say hi to a large man who looks Native American, by his Jeep Wrangler.

"Hey Dog, how's it going?"

"Hey Carl, things are great! How's your car?"

"My car? Oh, he- it's fine."

"Okay, it just looks a bit- different today…"

"-well, I gotta get to work, see ya later!"

Carl pulls off somewhat quickly. Pursuit asks "Dog?"

"It's the best English translation of his Indian name. Means 'Hunting Dog' or something, I could never remember it I'm sorry to say."

Soon they reach the police station. As they park, they see an attractive young woman wearing a police uniform and a motorcycle helmet walking out to the police car park.

"Do you know her?" asks Pursuit.

"Oh yeah," Carl answers, "She's Jess Swift. One of the best cops in this city- besides maybe yours truly."

Then Jess walks over, and lifts the visor of her helmet. "Hello Carl, are you talking to yourself again?"

"Uh- yeah. Sorry. Out to patrol?"

"Yeah, the city's pretty quiet today. At least so far."

"Yesterday was nuts huh? I nearly caught Enzine…"

"And also five other road racers, not without a couple thousand in damage to public property alone. Sometimes I don't know what do to with you…"

"Hey, you caught three yourself and nearly got killed a hundred times! Don't go telling me off!"

"Whatever. And your poor car, I'm telling you, I'm surprised it's held up this long… by the way, did you have an accident losing Enzine or something? Your car looks… different… but I can't work out how…"

"Uh- hey, well, your bike seems to be going pretty well, you must be either avoiding or winning more high-speed chases…"

"Yes, so I'd better get going. See you around."

Jess starts walking over to her motorcycle.

"See ya…"

"She seems pretty nice. Sounds like she's a friend of yours."

"Yeah, one of my best friends ever in fact. It's partly because of her I'm still on the Force. She acts like she's the responsible and mature one, but I reckon she's a speed freak just like you and me. I mean, look at that bike!"

Jess is getting on her very flash looking motorcycle. "Yeah, that is pretty nice…"

"That's not just nice, that's a Kawasaki Ninja- one of the fastest motorbikes on this planet. She can go as fast as you I bet, though she flatly refuses to ever test it against me."

"Wouldn't that be a race?"

"Well, yeah. I know I'm against road racing, but I can never turn down a good contest. Don't start sounding like my mother…"

"Sorry. Jess… she reminds of someone I used to know…"

"Well, you can tell me about it later, I'll just go report in."

Carl gets out the car, locks it, and walks over to the police station door. As he goes, Pursuit thinks things over…

_Well, he seems a nice enough person, and has some interesting friends… I'm beginning to like this planet, maybe I can settle down here…_

But, although he is not aware of it, settling down is not on Pursuit's schedule for quite some time…

**Part 3: The Pretty and the Black**

"Pursuit is so gonna KILL YOU!"

The small, female Autobot, tied up with construction chains, was still yelling insults and threats after five hours in the ship. Quickchase is notorious for a spirit that simply will not break.

"I'd like to see him try, if he stops running away."

The answer came from Dead End, ambitious Decepticon soldier and Pursuit's arch-rival. The two had simply been rivals since they first clashed in battle- perhaps partly because the two look almost identical. Separated-at-creation twins. Except for their colours- while Pursuit had a proud white-and-blue paint job, Dead End was black all over. The same could be said for their hearts.

Dead End was ambitious all right. He was also determined, aggressive, arrogant and ruthless. Quite a dangerous formula, but perhaps perfect for a devoted Decepticon. This venture was his latest ploy to impress Megatron (feared leader of the Decepticons) - Track down the rogue Autobot and use the girl to get the information he needed out of him.

"Planet approaching- hmm, all blue, white and green. Seems inhabited too."

"I bet the natives won't take kindly to Decepticons invading their planet! They'll tear you apart so Pursuit and I can take you home in pieces as a trophy!" Said Quickchase defiantly.

"We'll see, my dear." The Decepticon said as he plotted a landing course. "We'll see."

Pursuit, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. Not a gunfight or a chase, but just cruising around Highway City at the speed limit observing the local inhabitants. Carl was slightly bored, but was also quite worn out from the previous day, and staying up late. They were doing Carl's designated patrol route, a suburb just west of downtown, fairly quiet at most times- but the long flat roads connecting to streets and highways made it notoriously popular with street racers. Why the overstressed Commissioner never moved his shift elsewhere was something of a mystery- perhaps he didn't know, perhaps he was too used to Carl's high-speed hi-jinks to care anymore. Either way, they just kept on cruising. Then they got an unexpected message over the police band radio.

"Unidentified flying object reported near Route 606, calling officers Chaser and Swift to investigate."

Carl and Pursuit looked at each other (Pursuit on his monitor of course), Carl with excitement but then puzzled at Pursuit's look of worry. Jess Swift, however, took the matter less seriously.

"Jeez, we're being called to a UFO? Get Atkins to do it, he's closer."

"True, but he's tied up with an accident and you two can get there in half the time anyone else could."

Carl quickly picked up his radio handpiece. "Roger, Chaser here on my way."

"Yeah, whatever, I'm there." Jess said more casually.

Carl turned on his siren and revved up the V8, then took off towards the highway. In a few minutes he was side by side with Jess on her motorcycle. Carl lowered his window.

"Someone doesn't seem to be taking this too seriously!"

"Carl, they are sending us after a UFO. I did not join the police force for this!"

"Guess they're trying to keep up out of trouble! Heh, good luck with that eh?

"Shut up, Chaser."

"Jeez, whatever."

Carl raised his window and said quietly to Pursuit. "You should see her during a skirmish. She goes nuts! And she says I'm reckless."

Pursuit answered, "That is sounding more familiar, I know it…"

Then Carl spotted a black spot on the horizon. He quickly put his window back down. Jess was still talking to nobody in particular.

"-I've told them a thousand times, there are no such things as-

"The UFO! Jess, it's that way! About thirty clicks north-west!"

"What!" Jess exclaimed. "It can't be- wait, I see it!"

"Told ya!"

The two rocketed off an exit onto a long, low, lonely desert road.

"It's probably another Army experiment or something…" Jess muttered as they went on.

She was about to discover she was very wrong on all assumptions.

The Corvette and the Ninja cruised through the bottom of a canyon with almost vertical walls. Pursuit quietly spoke.

"That's got to be a Decepticon ship, Carl, probably coming after me!"

Carl nodded but raised a few fingers in an attempt to reassure Pursuit. Jess may have found this behaviour strange, but she was paying attention to her driving.

"This is madness, why all the way out here?"

"Hey, I know this place! I busted a race here once. See, a crashing Beamer made the mark on the canyon wall right there-"

Then the canyon ended. Jess gasped.

"Oh- my- God…"

"I knew it." Pursuit quietly said.

A Decepticon courier ship, small by Transformer standards but still huge to ours, all black and dampening its thrusters to land on the desert ground. The two officers stopped their vehicles.

"That can't be human… not of this earth…" Said the shocked Jess. She looked at Carl, who had gotten out of his car. He looked strangely unsurprised. "You… knew?"

Carl nodded. "A friend of mine told me about something like this recently…"

Then a large ramp opened at the front of the ship- barely seen and mostly heard by Carl, Jess and Pursuit, who now realised they were at the back. Then Dead End walked out.

He looked like something out of a nightmare. Seven metres tall, all shaded black that barely seemed to catch the sun's rays, sleek sports car curves clashing with squared robotic components. It was hard to believe he had almost exactly the same structure as Pursuit. Dead End walked down the boarding ramp and stomped onto the warm ground, kicking up a small cloud of sand. He looked around.

"Some planet. So far nothing but wasteland. Trust Pursuit to land here of all places." Said the Decepticon.

Jess gasped and almost cried out, but Carl put his finger to his mouth to stay quiet.

"Where is that loser…" Dead End muttered. "PURSUIT!" he yelled with digitally amplified volume that echoed throughout the landscape. "Probably hiding. Or he could be parsecs from here…"

Dead End started scanning. Carl and Jess had been frozen to the spot all the while, and when he detected their heat signature he swung around to face them.

Jess nearly screamed. Carl barely suppressed a gasp. Dead End was indeed like an identical twin to Pursuit, like a shadow. But his face was different, especially his eyes- while Pursuit's optics glowed blue, Dead End's were a glow of red, that would strike most Transformer or human hearts with a deep fear. But Carl only looked him in those eyes.

"So you must be the natives. Tell me where Pursuit is and your lives may be spared."

The two officers said nothing, but reached for their weapons- even though they may not have been any use against the Decepticon, or any other Transformer.

Dead End did not hear a reply. "Wrong answer!" He got out his own weapon, an energy submachine gun, and pointed it at the pair. But then Pursuit spoke.

"Don't waste your ammo, old pal, I'm right here."

Pursuit transformed and walked in front of the officers. "Let's settle this once and for all, right here." The Autobot was feeling stronger from merging with the hotted up Corvette, and braver than before.

Dead End snickered. "Although it would please me greatly, I'm not here to kill you. Not yet anyway. You have the last part of the Epsilon Code. I suggest you give it to me."

"Not in this lifetime or any other, Dead End, to you or any Decepticon!"

"Of course. I shouldn't have bothered to ask first. So here's a little incentive."

Dead End pressed a button on a device he was holding and a holoprojection appeared from it. Pursuit gasped. Dead End chuckled. "You Autobots, you have so many weaknesses. One of them is that you value your fellow Transformers too much. It seems especially so with you, and especially with this particular Autobot."

The holoprojection was of Quickchase. The small, white female Autobot trussed up with chains in a sitting position, still struggling. "Give me the code, and I'll give you your… _friend._"

"Where is she?" demanded Pursuit.

"Give me the code, Pursuit."

Carl, however, had taken the entire situation in, and was formulating a plan. He spoke quietly. "Jess, hostage situation. Remember procedure?"

"Not that you ever follow it, but yeah- I see what you mean!" She answered quietly.

"Then you come with me. Pursuit," he said, addressing the Autobot. "Keep talking to this guy, distract for time. We know what to do."

"Uh- right." Pursuit said quietly to Dead End. "How did you manage to capture her? I mean, she puts up one heck of a fight every time."

"Well, that's quite a story. She was looking around for you when you had scampered, when…"

_That's right, get him bragging about his missions…_Thought Pursuit. He knew his rival's mind, how his pride often got the better of him. Meanwhile, Carl and Jess had slipped away.

Crawling briskly along the underside of the ship, Carl led Jess in the direction of the still-open ramp. Jess asked "Carl, we're sneaking into an alien spaceship! How do you even know that… thing is in there?"

"Easy," Carl answered. "He's held back the location because it's so obvious, he wants every advantage he can get. He can't have stashed her anywhere but inside this ship, there's no others and he's alone. These guys are a lot like humans, like us."

"Well, yeah, but how the- who- she- oh, forget it." Jess was somewhat resigned to Carl's reckless yet usually logical behaviour. Method in his madness.

The two got to the ramp and ran up. The ship was somewhat cramped by Transformer standards, and Quickchase was easily spotted down by the pilot controls. The two officers ran over to her. Quickchase was startled.

"Who or what are you?" She asked.

"Friends of Pursuit." Carl casually said as he started to remove the chains binding her. Jess joined in to speed it up, fear and shock behind her. Soon the Autobot was back on her feet, stretching and rubbing where the chains had chafed.

"Thank you, you two, uh-"

"We're humans." Jess quickly said. "I'm Jess Swift and this is Carl Chaser. Call me Jess."

"Call me Carl." said the male officer.

"Thank you, Jess and Carl. I'm Quickchase." She looked around. "Where's Pursuit?"

"Outside, stalling his psycho twin." Carl informed.

"Well come on, he'll need help!" Quickchase started running for the exit. The two officers hastily ran after her.

"-and then I found you, with those two primitive life-forms. So- hey, where are they?" Dead End said.

"Right here, rustbucket!" yelled Carl. Quickchase had reached the two Autobots, with Carl and Jess not far behind- they may have been smaller, but Carl and Jess were fit to a new standard for the police forces.

"Pursuit! You're all right!" said Quickchase.

"Quickchase! I-I'm sorry for-"

"Forget apologies, let's just take this guy out!"

"Oh no! She's escaped! You- you meddling primitives, you'll pay!" Dead End said with brewing fury. He aimed his gun at Carl.

"No way Dead End, this is between you and me!" Pursuit said as he charged towards his adversary. Dead End had the venting blown out of him as Pursuit hit with a full body tackle, picked up from watching a game of American football on TV the previous night.

"Rrgh… You'll pay for that, Pursuit!" Dead End grunted as he got up to fight back.

"I've got your back, pal!" Carl Chaser shouted as he unslung his pistol. "Let's take this bad boy down!"

"Jeez, men." Jess remarked as Carl joined the fight.

"Tell me about it." Quickchase answered.

The two women gave each other a look. Seems they have a lot in common.

Meanwhile, Pursuit was grappling with Dead End. The Decepticon realised the extent of Pursuit's enhanced strength and stamina, for some reason caused by Carl's massive upgrading of the engine and parts to his original Corvette. Then when Dead End broke away, Carl took his chance for a shot. "Take this!"

Carl was a true shot, and went for any creature's weak spot; the head. The bullet almost hit Dead End's optics and stunned him, sending him to the ground. This time Pursuit seized the chance and jumped for a shoulder crush move (wrestling ad on TV). Hit with the full force of Pursuit's strength and body weight, Dead End groaned in pain. Pursuit got up.

"Smackdown, mate!" Carl yelled. Even Jess and Quickchase cheered a bit.

"Couldn't have done it without ya, mate!" Pursuit answered. He then said to his fallen foe "How do you like that, Dead End?"

Dead End groaned, but surprisingly quickly leapt up to his feet, facing Pursuit. One arm hung limp and sparking, but the other held his gun, aimed at Pursuit. "Nice moves, 'mate'. But let's see you beat this!"

Pursuit looked startled, but acted surprisingly quickly also. In a blur of action he grabbed and detached the two long silver nitro exhaust pipes from his shoulders. Then he also detached his odd-shaped gearbox from his back. Then he combined them together, the pipes becoming barrels and the gearbox becoming the stock of a new weapon of his own: a double-barrelled Energon shotgun. He aimed it at Dead End. "Careful what you wish for." He then fired.

Dead End was caught by surprise while he was lining up for a burst-a single Energon blast hit him right in the chest, not fully penetrating his body armour but knocking him back many meters. He was lucky; a little closer or without the knockback room, the blast might have killed him. Perhaps it was Pursuit's mercy, though more likely misjudgement from his first use of the new weapon. But Dead End was tough; he struggled to his feet again. He wheezed a curse to Pursuit, staggered to his ship and closed up the ramp. A few seconds later the ship was lifting off to fly away.

"He's getting away!" Jess exclaimed.

"Not on my watch." Pursuit said as he raised the gun. He fired the _second_ barrel at the ship's thrusters, causing the engines to explode and the ship started to go down. The two Autobots and the two police officers watched as the ship went into a ravine and out of sight, only to be replaced by a large, spectacular explosion, which shortly dissolved into smoke.

"Nice shootin', partner." Carl said in a bad imitation of a cowboy accent.

Pursuit blew smoke from the barrels of his new and proved shotgun. "That ship won't be flying again."

"You think we ought to go after him?" Jess asked.

"Nah, even if he did survive he wouldn't be able to offer much resistance to anyone. We can finish him off some other time. I say we go home."

The others nodded in agreement, and Pursuit transformed back into a car. While Carl got in, Jess got on her bike and Quickchase came over to look at the sleek motorcycle.

"Strange vehicle… small, but looks very fast…" She touched the front of the bike. Suddenly, she, the bike, and Jess all began to glow.

"What the-" Pursuit exclaimed, "Carl, that's just like us before!"

Carl was watching and had also noticed. "Hey, yeah…"

Indeed, just as before, the motorcycle and Transformer merged into one, forming a new motorcycle entity with Jess in the drivers seat. Quickchase's engine purred. "Wow, I feel so… new, and strong!" She then rocketed off on her own accord, pulling a wheelie that almost caused the surprised Jess to shriek.

"Wow," said Jess, "You're even faster than before! Woo, yeah!", as they started going back through the canyon.

"Hey, wait for us!" Carl yelled as he and Pursuit pulled off after them. "Wait up, nitro's expensive you know!"

**Part 4: Enemy of my enemy…**

One thing moved in the burning wreckage of the Decepticon ship. Dead End was crawling out. Once he was sure that by now he would be receiving a commendation from Megatron, then personally executing Pursuit, Quickchase, and any other Autobot that had happened to be in the way. Having his chassis kicked by the souped-up Autobot and his new primitive ally had not been on his agenda. He finally managed to crawl clear of the burning hellfire that was once his ship, but then collapsed on the ground, his strength gone.

It seemed like forever, the time Dead End lay on the ground, hardly able to think. But then, he heard a noise. The sound of an engine stopping. Then faint, small footsteps that sounded to be coming closer. Dead End hardly managed to pull himself up slightly to view his visitor.

It was a human. A male, dressed all in black. Dead End was in no condition to assert power over even one human right now, but he managed one sentence. "W-who… are… you…?"

The human answered. "Amazing, it can talk… may I ask, what are you doing here?"

Dead End's strength was returning, somewhat, at least enough to talk. This human seemed like a possible ally… "Pursuit… Quickchase…" Seeing little reaction from the human, Dead End thought names of another human might make more sense to him. He remembered the name he saw on the male human's badge… "Carl… Chaser…"

"Carl Chaser?" the human answered. "And what business would you have with him?"

Dead End remembered being beaten thanks to Carl Chaser and his archaic projectile weapon. "Revenge…" Rage started to fill Dead End's circuits, overpowering his injuries. He stood up. "The human's name is Carl Chaser… He and Pursuit will pay for my pain and humiliation…"

"It seems we have a common cause…" the black-clad human answered. "I may be able and willing to help you. Do you have a name?"

"Of course. My name is Dead End." The Decepticon knew he had found a useful ally.

"Dead End… fitting. As you asked, my own name is Davis Enzine. Want to see my car?"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. Robot cars from outer space? It sound like some kid's TV show!" Jess said after hearing the entire lengthy explanation.

"I find it a bit hard to believe myself." Quickchase agreed. "But here we are!"

'Here' was currently Carl's sizeable garage, where the four were generally taking a breather and getting things straight.

"Those two seem to be taking it well." Jess nodded towards Carl and Pursuit, who were currently modifying a video game controller to fit Pursuit's notably larger hands. "In fact, I think they're having the time of their lives…"

Quickchase shook her head. "This is one weird planet."

"You get used to it." Jess sipped her sports drink. "So now, I was wondering, do you think anyone else- more Transformers- will come after us? With you two and Dead End here…"

"I was just thinking about that. An Autobot retrieval team should be on their way right now!"

"And what about the Decepticons?" Jess asked.

"Oh yeah, them… I can't be sure, but I bet some of them will head this way too… I don't know who or how many… and if they get here, the whole planet will be in danger! Oh no, we led them here…"

"Oh, don't worry, blame Pursuit if anything." Jess reassured her. "Carl may be a bit reckless, but he's one of the toughest cops I've ever seen- I still remember the time he took on a riot solo and won! With him, Pursuit, and us, I think we can hold them off."

"Let's hope so. But I wonder… can Deceptions do that fusion thing with human vehicles like us?"

"I don't know, probably…"

"Because if they can-"

"-we're in trouble…" Jess finished.

"We have a code Romeo-Alpha-Charlie-Echo, on Route 402. Chaser, Swift, you know what to do." The message crackled over the police band, music to Carl's ears any day.

"Roger that, Chaser on his way!" Carl responded, full of enthusiasm.

"This is Swift, on my way. Here we go again…"

Pursuit took the liberty of turning on his siren as Carl shifted into high gear. Again, he was soon joined by Jess- and Quickchase- and the road racers were in sight.

"I'll take the left ones, you take the right!" Carl shouted over the engines.

"Right, we got it!" Jess shouted in response.

"All right Pursuit, time to show you how to bust a race!" Carl said to the dashboard. "You ready!"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do it!"

Carl moved forward and selected his first target: a red Ferrari in the left lane. The officer put his foot down- he caught up easily, the sports car was no match for Pursuit's enhanced, unprecedented engine. "Pull over punk, and I'll make this quick!" Carl yelled to the racer. The driver showed no response but to speed up, and Carl, expecting this, pushed on in front of him. The racer tried to take back his lead, but Carl again blocked his every attempt easily. Then as they passed through a narrow stretch, Carl braked and pulled partly sideways, forming a block that the racer could not pass. Before his car had even stopped (Pursuit took care of that for him) Carl leapt out, pulled and racer out of his car and cuffed him, leaving the slower police cars closing behind to do the rest. Carl then hopped back in and pulled off to catch the rest, using just a tiny smidge of nitro to catch up to the rest.


	2. Second, short writing

_Disclaimer-_

_I do not own the Transformers franchise, etc, etc (yet… maybe I can joint-own it with one of those chicks who do some other stories and plan to own Hasbro… heh heh.) BUT I do claim copyright on Pursuit, Quickchase (though not Dead End I think… as far as I know I think he's an official Alternator) and all the human characters are mine. Except Carl- he's ME (with a few things changed, including the last name). Basically, don't copy without permission (if you want to, email- I'll probably say yes, as long as you have decent spelling and grammar)._

_Thank you for the views and reviews, and thank you all authors who entertain me while I'm mucking around. I'll do my best for the next part. I'm not sure how I do on realism, probably terrible, but not much about Transformers in general is very realistic anyway so bleh._

_And do you want your favourite car making an appearance somehow in the story? Give me the make, model and a good description and I just might!_

**Part 4: Enemy of my enemy… (con't)**

Their next victim was a silver Mercedes-Benz heading for an exit. This vehicle took a bit more revs to catch up to- apparently modified. Carl took the wheel as they neared it. "Sorry buddy, this might hurt a bit."

Carl turned the wheel to the right, ramming the Mercedes with moderate force. The front of Pursuit contacted just behind the rear left-side passenger door- Pursuit's specially reinforced body took little more than a scratch, but the hit dented one of the other car's pressure points- the fuel cap. Carl, knowing the workings of a Mercedes, had hit that point to disturb the fuel and damage some internal components- to a souped up car like this, deadly. The car stuttered and slowed, the driver struggling to regain speed and control. It took little more than a 'nudge' to the front to send the car jack-knifing to the right and skidding to a stop. Carl drove on as a police Lincoln, waiting for this moment, pulled up to the Mercedes.

But the next racer was much tougher. This street racing professional had a Lamborghini Diablo, souped up and coloured maroon, a veteran of many races. Carl knew Lamborghinis- expensive, high-performance, and very, very fast. Pursuit had to really push it to catch to the roaring V12 engine of the streamlined, competitive-grade racing car. And once they got close, the racer moved away- this one had heard of the notorious 'Car Chaser' and his hotted-up police Corvette. So it was time for a tactic straight out of the movies. The good ones. Carl flipped out and cocked his sidearm, lowered the window and took aim for the rear left tire. He remembered, the key to a shot that counts is concentrating. Carl was thankful for Pursuit taking control as he lined up his Glock, taking note for high-speed lateral movement, checking the sight- and firing.

Carl took three rapid shots- the first hit the wheel rim, the second the road, and the third hit the tyre. The car swerved when the tire burst, as the driver tried to keep control. But he succeeded. The racer had seen the same movies, and had practiced driving with one tire out. Carl swore, and tried to aim another shot. But Pursuit had an idea…

"Don't waste ammo, I can take this guy!"

"Huh?" said Carl.

"When I say so, hit the nitro!"

Pursuit levelled his right exhaust port with the Diablo's remaining left tire. Carl noticed this, and smiled. "You dirty car…"

"NOW!"

Carl punched the NITRO button, and a small burst of blue flame shot out the hardened steel pipe- as Pursuit moved forwards, the flame melted the Diablo's tire like butter in a furnace- Pursuit only just moved away before the sports car jack-knifed left. The wheels continued to spin as the racer desperately tried to get away, but as Carl glanced back who did he see but Jess and Quickchase pulling up him, Jess holding up two fingers in victory as she spun a pair of handcuffs in the other hand. The police band crackled; "Good job you two, the chopper reports only one racer to go."

Carl picked up his transceiver. "Chaser on it. By the way, how many did Jess get?"

"Four, from what I've heard!"

"All right, better even the score then!" Carl turned off his microphone. "All right Pursuit, let's take this bad boy down."

"You got it! Full speed ahead!"

The two caught sight of the final, leading racer- a black Corvette.

"Oh no, that's gotta be Enzine…"

"Enzine?" Pursuit asked.

"Davis Enzine. My Dead End."

"Oh, right…" Pursuit understood. He also caught a chilling, unintended other meaning to that last sentence…

The black Corvette pulled off right onto a road leading into yet more desert wasteland. The Carl and Pursuit followed him. They drove at high speed for about a minute. Carl murmured "Something's wrong here…"

Pursuit's digital image nodded. "I hear ya…"

Then they reached a canyon. The black Corvette pulled up and stopped, Carl following suit when he reached the area. Carl hopped out the car, pistol raised. "All right you, out the car."

The black car's door opened and the driver stepped out- a young male, dressed in black, with a chilling gaze. Davis Enzine.

"I knew it. All right Enzine, put up your-"

"Carl!" Pursuit quietly but warily said, "This isn't right, it's way too easy. This whole thing isn't right- it's gotta be a trap!"

Then Davis spoke. "Quite right, Pursuit." He had been listening carefully. "You two have a lot in common- so gullible, so rash, so easy to lead. Seems fitting that we too have something in common- an advantage over you."

Then the black Corvette transformed. Dead End was back- fused and partnered with Enzine, stronger, faster, and much, much angrier.

"Slag…" said Pursuit, as Carl uttered the English counterpart to that word."

**Part 5: Attack of the Cars**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer continued: Oh, and also, all car makes and models mentioned in the story are property of their copyright owners, of course. Eheh._

_And a mention on the story; you may wonder why I posted a big long story, then only half a chapter? Well, this is my first fanfic and not originally designed for this site as it currently is, and also to write this I am combating depression, writer's block, my mum and stepfather hogging the comp/phone/telling me to go to bed, my little brother hogging the comp to play Spider-man, irregular homework, being dragged off to do farmwork, foul weather, possible power failures and desperately hoping for some kind of illness to set in so I can get some time alone (but preferably clearing up before I go to the Gold Coast this holidays). But enough bitching, let's see some fighting! Watch out, Pursuit and Chaser…_

**Part 5: Attack of the Cars**

Pursuit quickly transformed and in a flash assembled his energy shotgun. Carl, meanwhile, kept one eye on Davis while studying the seemingly recovered Dead End. Carl's worst fears were realised- the new parts and engine noise gave away that the Decepticon had fused with Enzine's Corvette just as Pursuit did- and if his hunch was right, the road racer's supercharged and upgraded engine had given Dead End extra strength just the same. Carl found this concept interesting, but now other things were more important.

The officer said "Don't sweat it, Pursuit, we've beaten these guys before and we can do it again!"

Pursuit responded "Maybe, but working together and powered up like that, I'm not sure…"

But Carl just smiled and tried to reassure him. "Hey, don't forget we've got the same skills, the same strengths, and the same smarts. The playing field is perfectly level- just the way I like it…"

Pursuit paused, but then nodded in agreement, and the two took fighting stance.

Dead End and Davis, however, only chuckled…

Carl asked "What's so funny? Finally lost it?"

Davis looked at Carl. "I would have thought you were the one who lost it, preferring a level playing field."

Dead End nodded. "This guy knows what he's on about. We Decepticons never give the enemy a chance."

Pursuit then realised what they were up to. "Oh no, I knew it! Carl, this is a Decepticon ambush!"

"What?" Carl exclaimed.

Then three Transformers jumped out from above the canyon, and landed surrounding Pursuit. "Oh no, Dead End's squad- Crusheye, Joyride and Nightride!"

"Who?" said Carl.

Crusheye's vehicle form must have been a large, bulky brown SUV reminiscent of a Hummer. Joyride and Nightride looked like identical twin sisters- but Joyride was a soft pink while Nightride was a dark purple. Kind of like Pursuit and Dead End, except that these two were on the same side of evil. They most closely resembled Ferraris.

"Let's kick this Autobot's butt." Said Crusheye, in a deep monotonous rumble.

"Ooh, Pursuit, you've buffed up!" said Joyride, in a seductive female voice.

"Yes he has," said her twin Nightride, who had a slightly lower, crueller voice. "Let's take him apart and see what's new inside!"

Carl however, was unperturbed. "Hey lady, nobody takes my car apart except me!"

"Ooh! How rude!" said Joyride. "Crush, be a sweetie and squash this little pest!"

"Yes ma-am…" Crusheye responded, and started walking towards Carl.

"Too bad," said Nightride, "He had some real attitude."

Pursuit noticed Crusheye heading for Carl, who showed no fear as he raised his gun towards the Decepticon. "Oh no you don't, blockhead!" Pursuit rushed to his partner and driver's aid and delivered Crusheye a running uppercut that sent him flying, crashing into the sand at the end. Then the sisters attacked from both sides- Pursuit held them off briefly, then knocked them both away with his arms.

A short distance away, Crusheye managed to get up- only to find Carl in front of him. "Why'd you stop, I've just started!" Carl taunted.

Crusheye responded by trying to crush him with his fist, but the nimble human easily jumped out of the way. Carl likewise dodged several subsequent attacks. "Hummers," he commented as he jumped up on Crusheye's foot after an unsuccessful kick. "No style, no grace." He said, as he then jumped up to the robot's shoulders. Carl attacked by kicking Crusheye's head- and counted exactly on the Decepticon trying to punch him off, yet another jump resulting in Crusheye punching his own head. Carl jumped clear as the dazed Decepticon teetered for a bit, then fell over. "Knucklehead." said Carl as he ran back to help Pursuit.

Pursuit's fight was going fairly well. He had been drilled by Carl in hand-to-hand combat- the officer himself knew karate, judo, tae kwon do and kung fu, and had taught Pursuit numerous moves that the Autobot tried and successfully pulled off on the unfortunate "rider sisters". With both of them currently floored, Pursuit was feeling confident- and he had made the mistake of forgetting about Dead End. Before he knew it, Pursuit was knocked back- hit by several energy shots courtesy of Dead End. The Autobot hit the ground but managed to roll to dodge another burst of lethal projectiles. Pursuit sprang to his feet and faced his attacker- Dead End, holding a new energy Assault Rifle, apparently constructed of his exhausts and turbocharger- similar to Pursuit's nitro pipe shotgun.

Carl came just in time to watch as Pursuit was attacked again by the twins while Dead End fired at him whenever he managed to free himself. Carl grabbed his pistol and was ready to help his partner when his keen senses saved his life from a bullet aimed for his head. A hasty duck and roll dodged the bullet and several others, and Carl had a good idea of his attacker before he saw him.

"Hold it Chaser, you're not getting past me alive." said Davis.

"Wanna bet, Enzine?" said Carl.

Chaser didn't count on winning a fire fight, pistol against submachine gun, so he ran for his attacker- getting him while he was reloading with a powerful tackle to the surprised Enzine, not expecting such a seemingly suicidal tactic. He recovered quickly, however, and engaged Carl in close quarters combat- and was confronted with the full fury of four styles of martial arts used by an expert. Davis was more familiar with street fighting and kickboxing, and the clash of East and West fighting styles was as unusual as it was spectacular.

Pursuit, on the other hand, was not faring nearly as well. His enhanced strength, speed and skill proved an advantage against the ordinary Decepticons, but the semi-sane team Dead End had somehow scraped and held together was fearless and dangerous. Pursuit was tired and struggling to hold his own against a triple onslaught of strength and firepower- though any other Autobot probably wouldn't have lasted nearly as long. With Carl and Davis locked in combat with no clear winner in sight, things looked bad for the side of justice. Speaking of which, a faint police siren was heard. Then it became louder, as did the sound of a screaming motorcycle engine. Then Jess and Quickchase arrived.

In Carl's opinion, Jess had never looked so beautiful. Exploding from out of nowhere, one hand giving Quickchase all the throttle she had, the other holding a blazing pistol firing shots at the Decepticons, siren screaming, engine roaring- Carl could easily have kissed her if he hadn't been currently preoccupied. Jess then leaped off her motorbike, Quickchase then transformed, and they both pulled out two pistols and started firing on the Decepticons. Carl leaped back as Davis ducked under a small hail of bullets, then ran for the protection of the Decepticons. Carl and Pursuit ran over to the girls.

Carl excitedly said "You're my angel Jess! See Pursuit, I told she goes nuts in a fire fight!"

Jess blushed slightly. Pursuit said "What did I tell ya, Carl! Hey Chase, since when do you have two pistols?"

"Probably the same way you got your new shotgun." Carl answered for her.

But Dead End was not finished yet. "Grr… Decepticons, regroup!"

"Who was it who said Autobots can't shoot?" Joyride asked her sister.

"I think it was you." Answered Nightride.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was you…"

"Shut up you two, who cares because they were right until now! Open fire!"

The Decepticons all unslung their weapons (mostly pistols but for Dead End's assault rifle) and fired at the Autobots, Davis joining in. The Autobots and officers ran for cover. Pursuit fired his shotgun in retaliation, but without much time to aim the powerful blasts only missed.

"This isn't looking good!" Carl yelled over the din of battle.

"You're telling me!" Jess answered.

"Should we call for backup?"

"No way!" Jess said. "We can't risk being discovered yet, and besides, I don't think much short of an artillery strike could finish this lot!"

Pursuit yelled in between shots "Well- we still could use some back up- right now!"

"No need to call, backup has arrived!" Said an unknown, slightly metallic voice.

All four looked around. Three Autobots stood behind them, weapons raised for battle. Pursuit instantly recognised them.

"Smokescreen! Side Swipe! Hound!" he exclaimed.

"All right, you guys missed the start of the party but you're damn gonna see the end!" Carl shouted.


	4. Chapter 4 at last

_Another story part, etc etc, no time or material for an amusing disclaimer and if you want a recap, read the rest of the god damn story. I write these things so you can read all of them, you know. I don't own the Transformers, or Alternators (yet…) but I do own everything else worth mention in this fic, including Pursuit, Quickchase, Dead End and all the humans. And Highway City, though not the USA… yet…heh heh heh… Many thanks to Pivot for reviews and inspiration, I dedicate this to you._

_PS: I'm not well familiar with the USA's geography, which state do any Americans in the audience think Highway City should be set in? I thought somewhere near the middle of the country, at the nexus of many major national routes (hence the name) and in the proverbial middle of nowhere desert kind of geography. Texas? Nevada? Where?_

**Part 6: Meetings**

Pursuit and Quickchase knew the three Autobots: Smokescreen, the highly competent, experienced leader; Side Swipe, the shy, inexperienced rookie; Hound, the dependable soldier and battle veteran.

Smokescreen spoke. "We were sent here to find and retrieve you two, after the Decepticons were detected following you…"

"Well about time you came!" Carl yelled over the continuing fire.

"We could use some additional firepower here!" shouted Quickchase, ducking to avoid a shot.

"Oh, right," said Smokescreen. He then shouted orders to his men. "Battle positions! Counterattack!"

"Yes, sir!" Hound answered as he quickly moved into formation and revealed his pistol.

"Uh, yessir!" said Side Swipe soon after as he did the same.

"All right then," said Smokescreen as he converted his car engine into his own weapon. "Open fire!"

The three unloaded their weapons into the Decepticons, adding their firepower to the hail of energy shots, bullets and blasts going that way. Dead End's squad were pushed back by the barrage, and the black Corvette realised they were outnumbered and outgunned. "Decepticons, retreat!" he yelled, and then transformed and headed back for the highway, the other Decepticons following him and Davis barely catching up to jump into his car.

Some introductions, explanations and minor repairs later, the Autobots were all moving down the highway back towards the city. The new arrivals might have looked suspicious with no drivers, but it was late in the day and traffic was little. Besides, they were in America, nobody would care. Carl and Jess had to head back to the station to check out for the day and report (their version of) the day's events. And compare arrest counts. On the way back, Carl asked Pursuit to take control as he made three phone calls.

Later on that night, three of Carl's friends drove up to his home- one Carl had painstakingly chosen and fought to acquire, a fairly large, one-story house on a large block on the outskirts of the city, to remind him of back home in Australia, where such houses were more common. Also because it had a large, four-car garage that was mostly filled with tools and parts, that had to house his Corvette (now Pursuit), his large twin-cab pick-up (Ute in Aussie language) and trailer he used to haul old wrecks back from the junkyard to be resurrected as top-notch street machines ('Saved from Scrap', he called his business), and one of such wrecks as he fixed it up.

Currently three cars were parked outside the house, each very different. One was the Dodge Viper belonging to Sally Sweitzer- the rich girl whom Carl had steered away from the road to crime, or socialite shamelessness along the lines of Paris Hilton (and also literally avoiding some nasty accidents) and onto a more respectable path of life. Just finishing a hard day at Highway City College, she had been thrilled to receive a call from Carl, asking her to come over to his house tonight. She had spent the last three hours putting on makeup and picking an outfit (old habits die hard) before coming over, only to be rather annoyed when the others turned up, signalling that this was probably more of a friends' gathering than what she had been hoping for. She was currently sulking while the others chatted and wondered what was going on.

One of the 'others' and owner of the Jeep Cherokee was the man known best as Dog. A full-blood Cherokee Indian, tall and muscled, Dog was well-known as a social worker striving to improve life for the Native American population of Highway City, adapting to modern society while not losing their ancient culture and heritage. It wasn't easy, but Dog was not the kind who would ever give up. He and Carl Chaser had met and helped each other several times in related incidents, and the two got along quite well.

The last car was the most unusual- a Subaru WRX rally car, complete with sponsor logos, rollbars and the lot. Sam Smith was the owner- an African-American rally racer aiming for the big time, and Carl- who loved and respected legitimate racing with a true Australian passion- had volunteered as a mechanic several times on his off days, his incredible skill being the difference between victory and loss. Carl had become an instant No. 1 fan after seeing his perseverance and determination on the track only once, and Sam liked the Aussie's easygoing, generous nature. Sam also occasionally acted as a tip-off when rumours of upcoming illegal races spread through the many amateur race car drivers that resided in Highway City- a result of several racetracks being located in and around the city that hadn't got its name for nothing.

All three had no real idea what was going on when Carl and Jess pulled up on their respective vehicles. After a few greetings, the question was soon raised, and oddly enough quickly answered in the form of Pursuit transforming.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Davis Enzine had called up some friends of his own. He ran one of the most notorious underground gangs in Highway City- drug running, extortion, robbery and of course car theft were all in the order of business, with road racing as a profitable sport on the side. Tough cops and tough laws breed tougher criminals.

Davis's most (relatively) trusted and dangerous members had been assembled, including the Rider twins- Joyce and Nancy Rider, two femme fatales and decent racers; both drove Ferraris given as gifts by Davis himself to ensure loyalty. Though it wasn't like the cars had cost him much. The other guy was Charlie Opt, Davis's general heavy muscle. Not too bright or talkative, but reliable and handy with a gun. He drove a brown Hummer. You didn't usually get the most agreeable, respectable or sane people in this profession. The same could go for being a Decepticon…

_Whew, finally got this done. This has been a struggle to get finished, and I can't say it's my best. Not much action in this, gotta fit in the plot somewhere of course, but I don't think it's too bad anyway._

_And if any American Indians reading this are in any way offended by the description of Dog, or his work, I'm really sorry. I'm just writing from the very little that I know, and assuming it's not too dissimilar over there than it is here with the Aborigines. Either way, things should and I think are getting better. Remember, I'm an Australian, not an American. I just want to have an even variety of races and cultures among my characters, which don't necessarily affect their personalities or roles. I hate stereotypes, and take care to not have them in my stories- if I do, it's usually because I'm under stress to think of a new character or something like that. Either way, I just want to write a good story, or at least somehow entertain people._

_Thanks to Pivot for beta-ing. Love ya._

_Also, thanks to Dark Aura for getting me to update. What's your name here again? SP something 3X?_


	5. Carl the idiot

_After the last chapter, I wasn't sure where to go on… but now I think I've got it. I don't own anything that anyone else does. Read on…_

_Oh, ought to mention I'm modifying the characters slightly from now on. Jess is gonna be a lot more Texan._

"Dangit Carl! You didn't think this through did you?"

"What the heck's up with those giant robots! Why did one turn into my car! WHY WON'T YOU EVER RETURN MY CALLS- uh…"

"I thought this would be just another normal day, then you call, then a giant robot from outer space takes over my rally car!"

As a rather indignant Carl Chaser endured the annoyance, confusion and anger of his friends, the Autobots sat back against the wall of his garage. "Those humans sure talk a lot." Said Hound.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Said Quickchase. "Anyway, what's going on back at the front?"

"Same as usual." Said Smokescreen. "More or less. Though for some reason, HQ freaked when we lost contact with Pursuit. Hey, do you know what that's about, Pursuit?"

"Uhh… No. No idea." Said Pursuit.

Smokescreen stared for a moment, then gave up. He could tell Pursuit was hiding something, but he knew he'd never give any secret up. "But anyway Pursuit, I also noticed you've… changed a little."

"Heh heh, you haven't seen the half of it!" said Pursuit, flexing his arm. "I don't know if it's Carl's motor skills or exercise on the streets, but I'm stronger than ever! You should've seen me kick Dead End's tailpipe before!"

"Ease off, tiger." Said Quickchase. "You guys ought to notice, you've changed as well. We all have since we merged with the human vehicles." She flipped out her twin pistols. "I don't know where these came from, but I sure know how to use 'em!"

"It's weird…" said Pursuit, looking thoughtful. "Since I merged, I've felt a heck of a lot stronger, and more… I dunno. I don't get so scared anymore when a battle starts. And the gun I got! Man, if I had that back at the skirmish on Antiga…"

Smokescreen, Hound and Side Swipe looked at themselves. "Well, I do feel a bit… different." Said Smokescreen.

"Same here." Said Side Swipe. "I don't really know if I've got any new weapons yet though, like you guys do."

"We'll probably find out what our new powers are once we really need them." Said Hound. "For now, I think we ought to stick around. We have to anyway, since our ship needs repairs…"

"All right, men." Said Smokescreen, standing up. "And lady. Right now, we're on a new battlefield, a city full of people, and the Decepticons are here too, and definitely up to no good. We're going to have to work undercover, and stay in our alt-forms while our human partners go about their own lives. Nothing like this has ever been done before in the recorded history of the Transformers. I am asking you, are you all ready for this?"

"I'm ready for it." Said Hound.

"Yeah, I can do this!" said Side Swipe.

"Bring it on!" said Quickchase, shaking her fist.

Pursuit sat back and looked at the humans. "Of course I'm ready for it. The question is, are they?"

"WHY THE HECK DO YOU ALWAYS BLAME EVERYTHING ON ME?" yelled Carl.

Meanwhile, in a dark warehouse on the other side of town, Davis Enzine and his gang stood around, waiting. The Rider sisters were talking quietly, Charlie was smoking a cigarette, and Davis just stood there, watching the road. The Decepticons were parked near their new partners.

"Why do we have to wait so long, boss?" asked Charlie.

"Crusheye agree." Said the Hummer parked behind him. "Crusheye want to smash Autobots and cops."

The Rider sisters chuckled. They really did have a lot in common with the Decepticons.

"Show some patience, guys." Said Davis. "Believe me, this is worth waiting for… Ah, here they come now."

An old truck drove up the road and into the compound, stopping just by Davis and his gang. A grizzled old man climbed out. "I'm 'ere." Said the old man.

"Ah, finally." Said Davis, smiling. "I was surprised you could get this equipment here so fast, and on such short notice."

The old man chuckled. "Anythin' for an ol' friend. Here, you big lad, help me with this will ye?"

Charlie looked at Davis, then followed the old man to the back of the truck, and helped him open it. Davis and the Rider sisters walked after them.

The back of the truck was filled with large wooden crates. Charlie and Davis, under the direction of the old man, unloaded a few onto the ground. "Joyce, Nancy, go to the back of the truck and get some crowbars." Said Davis. "I want us all to see exactly what presents I've got for you…"

"Regular Santey Claus, ain't ya?" said the old man, who laughed.

Davis and Charlie used the crowbars to remove the lids from three of the boxes. Digging through the hay stuffing that cushioned the contents, Davis revealed what he had sent for. "Oh yeah…"

Out of the crate, Davis lifted a massive assault rifle. Joyce and Nancy unearthed the parts of a huge anti-armour machine gun, while Charlie pulled out a rocket launcher. "Eh don't know what in the world you kids are up ter with these fancy toys, but all I can say is, you'll have a hell of a lotta fun with 'em!"

"Hmm…" said a sinister, metallic voice that made the old man jump. Then Enzine's Corvette transformed, and Dead End walked towards the crates and studied the weapons. "Interesting… I look forward to seeing these weapons in action."

"You'll get your wish sooner than you think." Said Davis, as he loaded a clip into the assault rifle and switched the safety lock off.

"What in the sweet name o' the Lord!" said the old man, taken aback at the Transformer's appearance.

"We will have a lot of fun, you can count on that." Said Davis as he aimed the rifle directly at the old man's head, and fired.

_No end of chapter rant needed. Review._


End file.
